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Thursday, November 21, 2013

This Book Room: Beloved Daughter

In a small North Korean village, a young girl struggles to survive. But it is her father's faith, not the famine of North Hamyong Province, that most threatens Chung-Cha's well-being. Is Chung-Cha's father right to be such a vocal believer? Or is he a fool to bring danger on the head of his only daughter? Chung-Cha is only a girl of twelve and is too young to answer such questions. Yet she is not too young to face a life of imprisonment and forced labor. Her crime? Being the daughter of a political traitor. The Beloved Daughter follows Chung-Cha into one of the most notorious prison camps of the contemporary free world. Will Chung-Cha survive the horrors of Camp 22? And if she does survive, will her faith remain intact? "The Beloved Daughter" is Alana Terry's debut Christian novel and was a winner in the Women of Faith writing contest.

My thoughts: I am one of those people who isn't really a fan of indie things. Indie movies - I'll pass. Indie music artists - I'd rather listen to Kelly Clarkson. So when I was approached by the author herself to read this book and review it, I was a little nervous and apprehensive. I checked out the book on barnesandnoble.com to read the summary, and I was seriously intrigued! It sounded just like my kind of book.

In a word, this book is haunting. I stayed up way too late two nights in a row to read this beautiful, harrowing book. Chung-Cha is brave beyond all measure, but my heart absolutely broke for her many times over. Alana Terry has weaved a wonderful tale of a place I will fully admit to always being curious about. North Korea holds so many mysteries, and even though this tale is fiction, I can't help but believe this story has absolutely happened. Probably many times over. I highly recommend this book. It is a book I will never forget.

Thanks to Alana Terry for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Here's some additional fun information about this book!

The audiobook version of Alana's bestselling debut novel is narrated by Kathy Garver, a four-time Audie award winner and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient from the Motion Picture Council. (You might also recognize Kathy as Cissy from the TV show Family Affair.)

You can purchase a copy of the paperback book here. But could I also recommend you request your local library purchase a copy? This is a great book and if the library purchases a copy, other readers can enjoy this story!

We are a happily married couple with a 3-year-old daughter, nicknamed Bug, a 1-year-old son, nicknamed Dino, and a crazy cat, Preston. You'll find delicious recipes, book reviews, parenting tips and tricks, ways to save money and more here. We love sharing our lives with you and are so excited you are here!